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Aditya Birla group ties up with Lawson Software

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, Jan. 18

THE Aditya Birla Group today announced the formation of an alliance with the US-based Lawson Software.

The new entity created to support the alliance is named Lawson Competency Centre and is a division of Birla Consultancy Software Services (BCSS), the software arm of the organisation.

The new entity is expected to generate revenue to the tune of $ 50 millions in two to three years.

``This is one more step to focus on knowledge-based industries,'' Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said.

The management committee of the new entity, Lawson Competency Centre, will comprise two members each from the Birla Group and Lawson Software.

Mr. Ashok Sand has been named CEO of BCSS with effect from February 1, 2000. He will oversee the operations of Lawson Products Competency Centre.

Lawson Competency Centre will market and implement Lawson's Software products in Asia Pacific. The centre will also provide support services to Lawson subsidiaries, affiliates and customers initially Asia Pacific, with plans to extend globally within the ir areas of operation.

BCSS will deliver Lawson e-business applications and e-business advanced technology for business-to-business (B2B) solutions. These include e-procurement, e-supply chain, e-financials, e-human resource and e-customer relationship management.

BCSS's competency centre will provide customer solutions in the markets of the Asia Pacific region, India and Africa. The alliance will start off with marketing and consulting activities in these markets and subsequently expand globally.

The centre will also provide support services to Lawson subsidiaries, affiliates and customers initially in Asia Pacific with plans to extend globally within their areas of operation.

According to company officials, e-business in India could amount to $ 10 billions in value. B2B solutions will lead the initial growth.

This tie-up is expected to help BCSS to lead e-commerce in India and Asia, dominate service sector in this region and deliver high growth in revenue for shareholders. BCSS is a division of Grasim Industries.

On the other hand, this alliance will help Lawson gain rapid entry into the South-East Asian market.

According to the officials, this tie-up is a commercial agreement and does not involve equity participation. Lawson Software will be paid a certain price for the products, which will be marketed by the Indian company.

Lawson Software, a $ 270-million company, is among the top five software companies in the world.Founded in 1975, Lawson Software, the web enterprise company, is a leading provider of Web-deployable, enterprise-wide, client/server business applications fo r companies in the mid to high-end markets.